Optical memory cards are used throughout the world as secure identification cards. These cards generally contain both human readable and machine readable information. For some optical memory cards, the machine readable data is in the form of optically preformatted and recorded digitally encoded information as described in ISO documents 11693 et al. This digital information may be updated by a user under some conditions.
In optical data storage, spots or other marks (which may be micron scale but generally are ˜2.5 micron in scale) are marked onto the surface of an optical data storage medium. This data may then be read by an optical reader. Such a reader may use an area array detector (e.g. a CCD array), a photo diode detector or other detector to image illuminated optical data. The data spots may be illuminated using a laser, an LED, or other illuminating source that provides a uniform illumination of sufficient intensity. In such readers, the light beam or the optical media are moving to scan a track of the data.
The use of a data card for storage of optical media provides a convenient device for holding a substantial amount of data. This technology allows greater than 2000 pages of data to be arranged in rows and columns on an optically readable surface the size of a credit card. One such producer of both the optical cards and optical card drives to record and read back the digital data is Lasercard Corporation (Mountain View, Calif.), the pre-eminent producer of optical cards that store more than 1 megabyte of data. These cards are described on U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,864,630; 5,029,125 and others. On these cards, data is stored in tracks running the length of the card. Such tracks can occupy up to 35 mm of the width of the card.
The presently available readers include the LaserCard 600-Q Optical Card Drive (LaserCard Corp., Mountain View, Calif.). This reader provides secure and automatic card authentication, an automatic card intake and ejection mechanism for reliable operation, auto-locking optical head for secure transportation, and rapid transactions for convenience, high service levels, and efficiency. Different embodiments of this system may include contact and contactless IC Chip reader, write capability disabling (i.e., read-only mode), and customized firmware for a secure encoding and reading applications.
The 600-Q Optical Card Drive is a robust read/write unit. The drive is a stand-alone SCSI II/USB peripheral, supplied with drivers and DLLs for rapid integration into standard PC environments. It can also be physically integrated into terminal and kiosk environments, providing even greater application flexibility.
In some applications the user may want to read optical cards at remote locations. This would require a portable optical card reader. One object is to provide a portable device to read digital information preformatted and recorded onto optical memory cards. An additional object is to provide a reader that can be used in portable applications and operate under battery power. Such a device also should be low weight and comfortable to hold. It is a further object to provide rapid reading, providing fast random access to individual tracks over the entire recordable area on a card. It is further object to provide rapid loading and extraction of the card from the reader.
A further object is to develop a reader that is adaptable to low cost, high volume manufacturing and uses low cost components. Any optical reader requires a complete optical system for the illumination and detection of spots on an optically scanned surface. Such optical assemblies (e.g. optical read heads) are inexpensive only if manufactured in very high volume. In the present device, the reader will not be manufactured in sufficient volume to allow a cost effective custom optical head. It is an object of the invention to adapt an existing optical component to allow low power consumption and rapid reading of optical card data.